16 May 2016, Monday
It was very cold last night. The temperature had to have dropped into the
low 30’s. We stayed warm under our down quilt, but I wouldn’t have
minded an extra blanket. During the night we heard an owl calling close by, and also some very loud coyotes around 3 or 4 am. We are
up around 7:30am and warm a huge cinnamon bun from Crockett’s
Breakfast Camp for today’s breakfast. I’m glad we only bought one!
It is more than enough for the two of us. We clean our campsite well
and put everything away in the car before we leave on our hike around
the Rich Mountain Loop. The loop is about a 9 mile round trip hike from our
campsite up the ridge overlooking Cades Cove.
Cades Cove is a beautiful area, a broad green valley surrounded on three
sides by tree covered ridges. Many of the original home places have
been preserved by the Park Service. There is a special maintenance
team for historic structures. They use the same techniques as the
original settlers would have used to repair the cabins when needed.
We stop at one of the cabins that stands alongside the trail we are
hiking and talk to the knowledgeable volunteer there. This is the
John Oliver cabin, originally built around 1818. The Oliver family lived here over a 100 year period. The shingles on the roof are hand cut
from either white oak or red oak. In the early 1800′s, if a family was well off they would
eventually put a wood floor in their cabin. Otherwise the floor remained dirt,
hence the expression “dirt poor.”
We return to the trail after photographing some butterflies, again climbing up ridges and seeing still more
wildflowers. Somehow this never gets old. The mountain laurel on the ridge is in bloom, but the rhododendrons still have only buds. We
arrive back at camp and prepare our dinner, a spicy Indian sauce served
over a nicely browned potato cake. Dessert again is chocolate mousse.
New neighbors are setting up at the next campsite. They are from Chicago.
We warn them to watch out for poison ivy. They do not know what it
looks like. We point out the numerous examples around camp. They are
grateful. There is a chance of rain tonight increasing towards
morning. We may be taking down camp in the rain again tomorrow as we
head for Mammoth Cave National Park.
Total elevation gain today: 900 meters